Eagles clinch playoff berth, 27-13

Dec 21, 2009 - 1:48 AM

By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- Playoff berths are so routine for the
Philadelphia Eagles they don't celebrate anymore.

Donovan McNabb threw for one touchdown and ran for another,
DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving and the Eagles beat the
San Francisco 49ers 27-13 Sunday to clinch a playoff spot for
the eighth time this decade.

None of the first seven trips produce a Super Bowl victory,
however.

"It's always good to clinch a spot early, but we're still going
to put our foot on the pedal," McNabb said. "It's an exciting
time, but nothing to get overly excited about. One of our goals
is to have a bye week and win the NFC East and the only chance
for that to happen is to win the last two games."

With San Francisco's loss, the Arizona Cardinals secured their
second straight NFC West title.

The Eagles (10-4) have won five straight games and have a
one-game lead over Dallas in the NFC East. Philadelphia visits
the Cowboys in two weeks.

The start of the game was pushed back three hours because the
city was still recovering from the second-largest snowfall it
has seen since records began in 1884. A total of 23.2 inches of
snow fell in Philadelphia on Saturday.

It didn't seem that bad inside Lincoln Financial Field until
some fans started throwing snow in the fourth quarter. Once
LeSean McCoy scored on a 2-yard TD run to put the Eagles ahead
27-13, a few of the frozen die-hards celebrated by tossing snow
up in the air. Some fans mixed in snowballs aimed at 49ers fans,
but they quickly stopped when a warning was flashed on the video
screen.

Frank Gore ran for 107 yards, becoming the first player to
surpass 100 yards against the Eagles in 24 games. But the 49ers
(6-8) couldn't overcome three interceptions thrown by Alex
Smith.

McNabb finished 21 of 36 for 306 yards. He threw two
interceptions for just the second time this season.

"There were throws I definitely want back," McNabb said. "It was
uncharacteristic of myself, tried to force the ball."

Down 20-3 at halftime, the 49ers scored 10 quick points to get
close. Josh Morgan returned the second-half kickoff 52 yards,
but the offense couldn't capitalize and Joe Nedney kicked a
25-yard field goal.

Then Dre' Bly intercepted McNabb's cross-body pass into double
coverage. This time, the Niners took advantage. Smith connected
with Morgan on a 12-yard pass to cut it to 20-13.

The Eagles later drove 89 yards and went ahead 27-13 on McCoy's
run early in the fourth period. McNabb's 59-yard pass to Jackson
on third-and-2 kept the drive going.

A scrambling McNabb hit Jackson for a 19-yard TD pass to put
Philadelphia ahead 7-0 on the opening possession. It was the
shortest of Jackson's 11 TDs this season. He already has tied
the NFL record with eight scores of at least 50 yards, including
two punt returns and one rush.

"It's a challenge for me to go out there and still have people
focusing on me the way they do," Jackson said. "It's a good
challenge for myself and the team to be able to still go out
there and make things happen."

Nedney drilled a 51-yard field on San Francisco's first
possession.

Coming off an impressive victory over Arizona on Monday night,
the 49ers were sluggish following a short week and cross-country
flight. But the Eagles weren't too sharp, either.

"Obviously it was not our best performance," 49ers coach Mike
Singletary said. "We came out here to play a different game and
do all the things we had to do to get it done and we didn't get
it done."

Michael Vick limped off and didn't return because of a quad
contusion in the first quarter. Reid then made a gutsy call to
go on fourth-and-1 from Philadelphia's 29, but Leonard Weaver
was stuffed by Takeo Spikes and Michael Lewis, a pair of former
Eagles.

The 49ers wasted the excellent field position. Sheldon Brown
stripped Delanie Walker after an 8-yard catch and Asante Samuel
recovered at the 6. McNabb drove the Eagles 94 yards in nine
plays, running in from the 8 to make it 14-3.

Samuel intercepted Smith on San Francisco's next possession and
his 18-yard return to the Niners 28 set up a 22-yard field goal
by David Akers.

Notes: Vick was hobbling around the locker room and his status
is uncertain for next week. ... McCoy set the Eagles
single-season record for yards rushing by a rookie. He passed
Correll Buckhalter, who had 586 yards in 2001. ... Samuel's
interception was his eighth this season, the most by an Eagles
player since Eric Allen had eight in 1989. ... Gore is 58 yards
shy of his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.